To Love A Monster
by Intheabsenceoflight
Summary: Scarlet is a werewolf hunter on a bloody mission to find her grandmother. Wolf is a werewolf she's going to have to trust. Other characters will join them soon.
1. Chapter 1- A Bloody Beginning

**A/N: I am so incredibly sorry that this chapter was unreadable earlier. I don't know what on Earth caused it but I it's fixed now! Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE LUNAR CHRONICLES.**

Scarlet cracked the trunk of her beat up car. She looked over the carefully organized display of weapons before her. Shotguns and crossbows, rifles and scythes, a single katana and a colorful display of poisonous bolts. Jars of dead man's blood were nestled in the corner alongside crucifixes and machetes alike. Boxes of bullets were stacked high, all of them filled with pure silver. Scarlet tugged at the silver cross around her neck and selected a large, double barreled shotgun. She filled her backpack with bullets, dead man's blood, and salt. She strapped a silver plated dagger to her hip and filled a flask with holy water. She double checked her supplies and then slammed her trunk closed. Climbing into the driver's seat, she checked her reflection in the mirror.

Tall girl with dark red hair and cold brown eyes. Red leather jacket and tall black boots. Various scars and scratches across her arms. Angry frown. She tore her eyes away from the mirror and kicked the car into motion. She drove about fifteen miles outside of town and came to a stop next to a gnarled oak tree. She would walk the remaining mile from here.

She had been paid a large sum by the town's mayor to take care of the wolf living beyond the border. It had already stolen three children from the village. Scarlet was more than happy to take care of the problem. When she came to the location, she paused. It was an old abandoned barn, faded and falling down. She loaded her shotgun and crept to the door. It was dark now, and the moon offered little light. That was good. The creature would be fully awake and moving now. She heard rustling inside, and the sickening sound of crunching bones.

Scarlet took a deep breath, held it, counted to three and kicked the door open. The werewolf's head jerked towards her. It was in its halfway form, large and hunched. It stood on human legs but it had arms like wolf claws, a snout protruded from the face and its back was covered in dusty gray fur. Mangled ears flattened against the head and the tail swished threateningly. The wolf sank into an attack position and snarled but before it could launch itself, Scarlet pulled the trigger. The bullets slammed into wolf's leg, knocking it sideways. Scarlet took the opportunity to reload her gun as the wolf howled in pain. She fired again into the same spot. The wolf would not be walking againShe stood over the writhing creature. It tried to swipe at her, but she used her dagger to stab straight through the wolf's arm into the ground. She stomped down onto the knife handle, driving it further into the ground and snapping the bones in the wolf's arm.

It howled in agony and Scarlet's lips quirked into a smile.

"You know who I am," she said in a low voice.

The wolf glared at her with cold yellow eyes.

"You've been naughty, stealing all those children." She circled the wolf, teasing it. "You should have known this would be coming."

"It hissed at her. "Then finish it." It growled in an inhuman voice.

"Oh, don't worry, I intend to. But first..." She unscrewed the jar of dead man's blood. The wolf's eyes widened as it realized what was happening. She poured the holy water into the blood and shook the jar.

"You have killed children and for that you deserve to die. But I came here for information."

She dumped the contents of the jar over the wolf's chest. The howl was deafening. The blood smoldered and burned against the werewolf's skin. It shrank back to its human form, a lanky man with ash blond hair.

"What do you want?" He screamed.

Scarlet grabbed another knife from her pack and used it to pin down his other arm. He screamed again.

"I want to know where your pack took my grandmother and why."

To her surprise, the werewolf started laughing. Manic, wild, pain strewn laughter.

"You're asking me to give up my pack, little girl." He spit. "You humans just don't understand. It doesn't matter what you do to matter, loyalty is more important."

"Doesn't matter, huh," Scarlet whispered.

She stood up, leveled her shotgun with the wolf's face and squeezed the trigger. His head exploded in a burst of blood and brain. With a sigh, she knelt down to retrieve her knives and check the wolf for anything of use. Just as she was getting ready to burn the body, she heard someone drop down lightly from the hay loft. She whirled around, bringing her gun up in a smooth arc. She aimed frantically into the shadows. There was only supposed to be _one_ wolf here!

From the darkness, she saw a pair of glowing jewel green eyes. A young man stepped forward, his face and body scarred. His hair was black as were his clothes, which made him look as if he had materialized from the shadows themselves.

"I know where your grandmother is."

"You do?" Scarlet asked, keeping her gun steady.

"Yes."

 **A/N: I am soooo sorry about the screw up with this chapter earlier. I hope you guys still enjoy it! Let me know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2- Interrogation

Chapter Two- Interrogation

Scarlet kept the muzzle of her gun planted firmly planted on the stranger's back. He held his hands up and walked slowly. Scarlet's heart was thundering and her mind spun with possibilities. Why had this wolf given himself up? Why would he offer to help her? Were there more wolves around? Did she have enough ammo in her bag to survive an ambush? If not, could she make it to her car? Just in case, she walked him to the car, slowly and carefully. When they reached the car, she wrenched open the trunk. Keeping her eyes on him, she started rooting in her trunk for her silver plated handcuffs. It was quiet and starlight was her only guide in the darkness.

"You don't trust me."

Scarlet looked up. "Damn straight I don't trust you. You're a monster. I'm a hunter. It's not exactly a symbiotic relationship."

The wolf smiled and she saw the glint of sharp, pointed fangs. "I suppose."

She retrieved the cuffs and lead the wolf to a nearby fence. She attached the cuffs to his wrists after looping them around a fence post.

"Talk." She said, holding her gun up again.

The green eyes were almost glowing in the dark. "I know where your grandmother is."

"Where?"

"We take a train into Paris. I take you to the address. I'll tell you the rest when we're that far."

Scarlet smirked and shook her head. "No, no, no, that's not how this goes. You tell me everything."

The wolf laughed, short and soft. His voice was like a deep rumble in his throat.

"If I do that, there's nothing to stop you from killing me."

Scarlet grit her teeth. This wolf was smart and she didn't like it one bit. "Why are you telling me this then?"

"How much do you know about werewolf packs?"

"Not much. Only what my grandmother told me. The Alpha answers to the Queen, the wolves answer to the Alpha."

He nodded. "There's more to it than that. It's a hard, terrible life. I want to see it taken down."

That surprised her. Why would a werewolf, a creature of the night, want to see its own kind destroyed.

"We're not all bad, you know." He continued. "There are good witches out there, and vampires that don't feed off humans. And there are werewolves who don't appreciate being controlled, too."

She scoffed. "You're all monsters. There is no good or evil with your kind. You're all the same. You're all killers. Especially you wolves. You're the worst of them all, eating human hearts, stealing children from their mothers. The only reason you're alive is to lead me to my family."

He held her gaze, never looking away. "We are what you believe us to be."

Scarlet didn't quite know what to make of this man. She hated him with every fiber of her being, but right now he was her only hope, the only shot she had at finding her grandmother.

"Just one more question."

"Okay."

"Why did they take my grandma?"

The wolf smiled again. Seeing his fangs unsettled her. "To get to you, Red. You're the best of the best an they want you dead."

Scarlet felt a chill run up her spine and she swallowed hard.

"Okay, lets go," she said through clenched teeth. "We've got a long drive to the train station." She undid the hand cuffs and dragged the wolf to her car. She shoved him into the back seat and climbed behind the wheel.

"Don't even think about shifting in here." She hissed. The wolf nodded and settled for staring out the window at the rolling, dark countryside.

They drove in silence. The moon shown down on them like a quiet, watchful eye. Scarlet's heart was pounding in her ears. She didn't know if she could trust this man or if he was leading her to her doom. She glanced at him in her rear view mirror. His face was covered in scratches and scars, which didn't help to settle her nerves.

"What do I call you?" She asked.

The corner of his mouth lifted. "Just call me Wolf."

She smirked back. "Fair enough... Wolf."

 **A/N: Yay chapter two! Sorry again about the mixup on the first chapter. Let me know what you think; I appreciate all feedback, good or bad. I think I'll try to update this every other day and get a one shot posted in between. Hope you're enjoying because next time Scarlet and Wolf will be crossing paths with another member of the original gang! Any guesses?**


	3. Chapter 3- Train Terror

Chapter Three- Train Terror

Getting to the train station was the easy part. Deciding what to bring was harder. After much thought, Scarlet decided on her trusty shotgun, a small crossbow, and the pistol her grandmother had given her on her eleventh birthday. She filled her bags with bullets, dead man's blood, holy water, salt, witch hazel and an assortment of other things she thought she might need including a two foot long silver plated machete.

Getting all of that through security was the hardest part. Luckily, her name carried some weight as the most famous Hunter in the country and after a lot of threatening and arguing and one broken thumb, Scarlet and Wolf made it onto the train with all of their gear. They settled into the tiny cabin and Scarlet turned to look out the window. Wolf laid down on one of the beds.

"How many werewolves have you killed?"

Scarlet turned to look at him. He was staring at the ceiling, his hands behind his head and his leg bouncing.

"How many humans have you killed?"

He was quiet for a long moment. "A lot."

"A lot." She repeated as her own answer.

"I meant it, you know." He said quietly. "Not all of us are evil. We just want to belong."

Abruptly, Scarlet stood up. She stomped to the cabin door and threw it open. "I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish here, but you're a job to me. That's it. I'm not here to make friends and I'm not here to advocate for your 'good monster' crap. The only reason you're still breathing is because you can lead me to my grand-meré. Don't forget that." She slammed the door, not caring if he had a response.

"Hey. You okay?"

She glanced down the hall. A man was leaning out of a cabin, concern painted on his face.

"I'm Ran. I heard you shouting."

"Scarlet. I'm fine."

"Okay." He said with a flirtatious smile. "Trouble with your boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend." She replied shortly.

"No? Then how's about I walk you to the dining car?"

"If you insist." She could feel her cheeks turning as red as her hair.

They'd made it only a few feet down the hall when Scarlet noticed something was wrong. She turned around and saw a wolf at the other end of the hall. A fully transformed wolf, no human characteristics. It had snowy fur and blood red eyes. She grabbed Ran's arm, intending to drag him to safety but he caught her wrist in an iron grip. She looked up at the stranger, bewildered. His eyes were glowing and his face had started to lengthen into a wolf's jaw.

She slammed her knee into his rib cage, freeing herself, and pulled out her pistol in one fluid motion.

She fired twice into his leg and then turned to the other wolf, firing a warning shot between its pointed ears. She heard a door being smashed open and then, in a blur, she was grabbed around the waist and lifted up. It took her a moment to realize that it was Wolf who had grabbed her. She fired again over his shoulder and struck Ran in the hand. He let out an earsplitting howl. Wolf barreled down the hallway and threw open the divider. He set her down and they quickly moved into the next car.

"We've got about three minutes before they catch up to us." He said through clenched teeth.

"Scarlet nodded. She noticed that even in the commotion, he'd managed to snag her bag of gear.

"Who were they?"

"Members of my old pack, most likely."

Scarlet rolled her eyes. "Wonderful."

"Don't move." Said a new voice.

Scarlet whirled around and pointed her gun between the eyes of blond young man holding a machete to Wolf's throat.

"Sorry ma'am, just taking care of a werewolf problem." He said in a charismatic tone.

"Sorry yourself. This one's mine. Who paid you to come after him?"

The man smirked. "That's not how I operate. I don't wait for someone to pay me to take out a monster. I just do it and I usually find someone willing to pay a pretty penny for wolf skin."

"Two minutes, Scarlet." Wolf whispered.

"Quiet, you." The man pressed the machete closer to Wolf's throat, drawing a thin line of blood.

Scarlet stood on tiptoe to look over the man's shoulder. "Look, there's an angry wolf pack on our tails. Can we take this somewhere less exposed?"

The blond man nodded and the trio muscled their way into an empty cabin.

"Now unless you plan to catch this bullet with your teeth, I suggest you release my companion."

With a roll of his blue eyes, he did. He sheathed his machete and Wolf moved to guard the door.

"Who are you?"

"Captain Carswell Thorne. Bounty hunter supreme, monster killer extraordinaire, ex-American military pilot, and excellent kisser." He said the last part with a wink and Scarlet forced herself not to gag.

"Okay, wonderful to meet you but as soon as we deal with our pals in the hallway, you're gone. Stay away from us."

"Who said I was helping you, sweetheart? I'm just trying to find a quick job and a quicker kill."

Before Scarlet could reply, Wolf piped up.

"How about taking down the whole monster organization at its source?"

"What?"

"After Paris we go to New Beijing. From there we can take down the Vampire Queen and end the killings for good. But if a 'quick kill' is more up your alley you can take your chances out there." He nodded towards the hallway.

Scarlet glared at Wolf. "When were you going to tell me this?"

He shrugged and fixed her with a burning green gaze. "When you were ready to listen."

The sound of something solid smashing against the door caught their attention.

"Too many to fight." Wolf muttered.

Thorne looked around and then yanked open the door at the other end of the cabin.

"Are you crazy?" Scarlet yelled over the rushing wind.

"You're gonna have to jump! Just go!"

Before she could protest, Wolf wrapped an arm around her waist and jumped. The ground met them with a hard, unforgiving kiss and they thudded and rolled until they were well into the brush.

Scarlet pushed herself to sit up, sore all over. She looked up just in time to see Thorne jump from the train, pulling two pistols from his waistband and nailing the white wolf in the face before he fell. The train roared past them and soon it was gone.

Scarlet and Wolf limped over to Thorne and dragged him to his feet.

He groaned. "Now what do we do?"

Scarlet folded her arms. "Who said you were coming, sweetheart?"

"I did. Just now." He muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "I'm up for taking out the Vampire Queen. Even if it means trusting a wolf."

Wolf ignored him. He reached out and brushed his thumb across Scarlet's cheek.

"You're bleeding."

Scarlet pressed a hand to her face and her fingertips came away red. She felt a shallow gash along her cheekbone.

Wolf tore a strip from his shirt and leaned down to press it to her bleeding cheek.

"Thanks." She mumbled, taking the cloth from him.

"Right... so anyways," Thorne interrupted. "Where do we go from here?"

Wolf tore his gaze away from Scarlet and looked up at the stars. "We're about fifteen miles from Paris. We walk. Once we're in the city, we meet up with my contact and retrieve Scarlet's grandmother. We'll figure out the rest once we're that far."

He started walking alongside the train tracks, while Thorne and Scarlet lagged behind.

"Why do you trust him?" Thorne hissed in her ear.

"I don't..." She replied, pressing the cloth tighter to her cheek. But after everything that had just happened, she wasn't so sure about that anymore."


	4. Chapter 4- Starlit Stories

Chapter Four- Starlit Stories

 **A/N at the beginning this time! I've noticed some comments about the pacing and where the emotion stuff is and don't worry! I wanted to set the scene and get out characters on their path pretty quickly. Things will start to slow down now. With any luck, this will be the best chapter yet! Enjoy and don't forget to review, it helps me out a lot!**

Scarlet had never really taken the time to notice the stars. She was always so busy, hunting or working on the farm. The sky was so beautiful. She stared up at the breathtaking view, drinking in the inky dark blue and the millions of tiny silver stars. She was so in awe, she didn't realize right away that Thorne was shaking her by the shoulders.

"Hey! Scarlet! What happened, did you hit your head or something?" He shouted.

Scarlet tore her eyes away from the stars. "I'm fine." She snapped, and pushed Thorne away.

"Are you sure?" Wolf asked. "We can stop if you need to."

"No. We need to keep moving." Scarlet took another step forward but her stomach turned at the thought of moving. Her head was killing i

"Let me see," Wolf said, reaching for her.

"No. Leave me alone, I'm fine." Scarlet stepped away from him. She didn't want to trust him, rely on him. She didn't want to owe him anything. But her head hurt so much...

"C'mon. I've had my share of fights growing up. I can recognize a head injury pretty easily."

"Fine." Scarlet muttered after a long breath.

Wolf placed his hands on her shoulders and studied her eyes. She assumed he could see her with his superior wolfy senses. To her, he looked like a blurry black outline in the darkness. She could only see the glimmer of starlight reflected by his eyes. She wasn't sure how she felt being so close to him, being within his grasp. He smelled like earth and pine trees and something rusty underneath that she recognized as blood.

"Well, it looks like you've got a mild concussion. Nothing some rest won't fix."

"Count me in for that." Added Thorne.

Scarlet sighed. "Alright then. But we're up and moving at dawn, you two hear me?"

"Yes ma'am."

Ten minutes later, Thorne was settled under a tree with his arm crooked over his eyes. Scarlet leaned against and old oak and tried to close her eyes. The air was freezing cold and the ground felt frozen solid but she figured she couldn't complain. But something else felt off to her. She opened her eyes and spotted Wolf several yards away, standing up and facing the train tracks.

"Aren't you gonna sleep?" She called.

He shook his head. "Don't need to. Not as much as you do anyway."

"You think I'm going to sleep with a werewolf watching over two humans? I don't think so."

He sighed. "If I wanted to kill you I would've done already, okay? I've had plenty of opportunities.

That surprised her. He certainly could have killed her, she realized. But he hadn't.

"I hate that I trust you," she whispered. She heard him turn around to look at her. "I hate that you're not like the wolves that attacked us."

"Why?"

"Because it makes this so much harder for me! Don't you see that?" She yelled. "You're different and that pisses me off. Why can't you just fit into your near little box like all the others? Why do you have to be so-" She broke off, clenching her fists. "So nice to me?"

The forest was silent. Scarlet scolded herself for her outburst. She had a job to do. No use getting emotional over a werewolf.

"I don't know why I'm different." Wolf said quietly. "But I am. And I know others who are. I know some vampires who could kill the Queen right now if I have the word. I know a witch who's been living on her own since she was a child, helping people."

"I don't care about how many good guys are out there." Scarlet replied. "I care about you and what your answer is. Were you born a wolf or bitten?"

"Born. This life is all I've ever known. I've hated every second of it. I never wanted to kill, you have to understand that. They made me."

"I never wanted to kill either." She shivered in the cold forest air. "But because of them I had to." She reached up to finger the silver cross around her neck.

"You should get some rest."

"I'll freeze to death before I fall asleep." She muttered to herself.

She heard twigs and leaves crunching as Wolf crossed the forest floor to sit beside her.

"What are you doing?"

He slowly, carefully put his arm around her and tucked her into his side. "Can't have you freeze before we even get to Paris."

She wanted to protest but he was warm and a feeling of safety covered her like a blanket. She placed her head on his chest and heard his heart beat, strong and steady. He felt so human.

"I hate that I trust you," she mumbled as he eyelids drooped.

"I hate trusting you, too." He breathed back. "You're turning my whole world upside down. Why? Why you?"

Scarlet couldn't answer because she felt the same way. She wished she knew. She looked to the stars and made a wish, embracing the little girl she'd had to grow out of so quickly. She wished for an answer. A solution to the problem curled up at her side.


End file.
